檢視 Four continents 四大部洲的原始碼

[[Image:Four Continents.jpg|frame|An illustration of our [[world]] system]]
'''Four continents''' ([[Wyl.]] ''gling bzhi'') — the four island-continents (Skt. ''dvīpa''; Wyl. ''gling'') which surround [[Mount Meru]] according to the cosmology of the [[Abhidharma]]. They are:

#[[Purvavideha]] (Skt. ''Pūrvavideha''; Tib. ''Lüpakpo''; Wyl. ''lus 'phags po''; Eng. 'Surpassing the Body') in the East, which is semi-circular and white in colour;
#[[Jambudvipa]] (Skt. ''Jambudvīpa''; Tib. ''Dzambuling''; Wyl. ''‘dzam bu gling''; Eng. 'Rose-Apple Continent') in the South, which is trapezoidal and blue (this is the continent we human beings live in);
#[[Aparagodaniya]] (Skt.; Tib. ''Balangchö''; Wyl. ''ba lang spyod''; Eng. 'Enjoyer of Cattle') in the West, which is circular and ruby red; and
#[[Uttarakuru]] (Skt.; Tib. ''Draminyen''; Wyl. ''sgra mi snyan''; Eng. 'Unpleasant Sound') in the North, which is square and green.

Each of the four continents is flanked by two subcontinents (Skt. ''kṣudradvīpāni''; Wyl. ''gling phreng'') of the same shape (see [[eight subcontinents]]).

Apart from the [[Chamara]] subcontinent of Jambudvipa, which is inhabited by [[rakshasa]] demons, all the other island-continents are inhabited by [[human beings]] of different characteristics, life styles and life-spans. Each continent also has a specific attribute (see [[four attributes of the four continents]]). 

==Further Reading==
*[[Jamgön Kongtrul]], ''Myriad Worlds'' (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 1995), pages 110-113 & 138-140. 

[[Category:Three Realms]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Abhidharma]]
[[Category:Enumerations]]
[[Category:04-Four]]